


Who I Am

by QueenCelina33



Series: Drowned in Ink AU [9]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity, Modern Era, Non-binary character, Takes place in the modern day, background info is given in the beginning note!, batim au, toon!Henry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 21:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17670542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCelina33/pseuds/QueenCelina33
Summary: Henry and his friends were reborn as toons and have lived to modern day, to our day and age. And so have Bendy and his siblings. So, when Bendy begins questioning who he is, he feels like he needs to tell someone. And Henry is just the one to tell.





	Who I Am

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! I have a new drabble today!  
> Some background info on this one!  
> Me and my partner decided that in my BATIM AU, when the main humans pass away, their souls are connected to the Ink Machine by the magic Joey used. As a result, their souls are drawn to the machine and they are reborn as cartoons. Henry and his friends live to modern day, and as the cartoons get updated to fit with more modern times, so do their toon forms and so do Bendy, Boris and Alice.  
> Well, Bendy and his siblings spend a lot of time online and they teach the human-toons about the LGBT+ community.  
> I hope you enjoy this drabble! :D

Henry tapped another button on his phone, sending a text out as he looked at the screen with half closed eyes. He let out a tiny huff and put both thumbs on his screen, typing another message when he got a reply. As he finished the conversation, Henry leaned back, his wings wrapped around him like a blanket.

It had been… how long? Two or three decades since his rebirth into the world as a cartoon? And how the world had changed since that time. The world had seemed to evolve into something out of science fiction, now that he thought about it. Despite that Henry never thought he would live to see such things, his attachment to the Ink Machine and the magic that once controlled the studio had seen to that. And it had seen to it with his friends as well, the ones who had joined him in his journey through the studio to save Joey and the world from dark magic. 

The modern world was full of new, exciting and confusing things Computers, phones, video games, advancements in transportation and medicine and production of products; all of this had happened within the time of their lives as humans and the rest in their time as cartoons. 

The animator really couldn’t believe how much the world had advanced in a short time, but he knew that he would have to change with it if he wanted to keep up with everything. Not only had the world changed, but his cartoon form had changed a bit as well. Rather than big pie cut eyes of a blue color, his eyes had pie cut pupils in white circles. His skin had gone from white to a peachy tone, and he could close his mouth now. However, he was still very similar to the old cartoons of his day and age and of the trademark design of Henry and Joey Studios. 

Bendy, Boris, and Alice had been updated as well, given new eyes and some color, as well as giving Bendy an ascot and giving Boris a collar. Allison and Tom hadn’t really changed, save for Tom’s eyes getting updated.

The world was changing, and so were Henry and his friends. He knew that change wasn’t easy, but he would do whatever it took to make sure he and his family could live comfortably.

A sudden vibrating sound caught his ears and Henry looked down at his phone. There was a text message from Bendy. That was odd. Bendy always talked face to face with Henry when he was in the house, never through text. The animator picked up his phone and looked at the message. His stomach sank just a bit as he read it.

**_“Henry… theres somethin I need to tell ya. Can you come upstairs, please?”_ **

Henry frowned in concern. Bendy was never one to text someone when he needed to talk about something, he prefered to talk face to face when he could. So something must have been wrong. Henry typed out a reply and sent it.

**_“Ben, is something wrong?”_ **

**_“Just… please come upstairs, Henry. I really need to tell ya somethin.”_ **

Henry unwrapped himself with his wings, hopping off of the couch and landing on the floor. He then used his wings to make his way to the stairs and up to the second floor of his house. Henry made his way to the room Bendy shared with Boris and Alice and peeked inside.

Bunk beds and a single bed were on either side of the room with a dresser between them and a desk near the closet. Posters and drawings hung on the walls. Henry could hear a faint tapping sound and looked to the desk. 

Bendy was sitting at the computer, typing away with a tense posture. He looked to be very angry or scared, as he was trembling. Henry knocked on the doorway, making the Little Devil Darling turn to look. “Hey, Ben,” Henry spoke.

Bendy let a small smile cross his face. “Hey, Henry. Ya get my text?”

A nod was given and Henry stepped inside. “What did you need to talk about, Bendy?”

“Can you… shut the door, please?”

Henry frowned, but did as he was asked and shut the door behind him. When he turned back around, Bendy had stood from his chair with his hands clasped together. His eyes had small inky tears forming in their corners. Henry furrowed his brows and walked up to Bendy, wiping his eyes with his thumbs. “Bendy… is something wrong?”

Bendy let out a shuddery breath. “Nothin’ is wrong. I just… have somethin’ ta tell ya.” His breath hitched for a second. “I just… was scared ta tell ya.”

Henry took one of his hands. “Tell me what, Bendy?”

The Dancing Demon looked away with his eyes watering again and lower lip trembling. He shook his head before looking back at his creator. “Henry… would you hate me if I wasn’t a boy?”

Henry put a hand to his chest in shock. Bendy had been made a boy, but Henry knew that in this day and age, there weren’t just boys or girls in the world anymore. He had learned a lot about the difference between gender and sex from Bendy and Alice, thanks to them being online. And Henry and his friends had come to learn about and accept these ideas and gender identities. It was at that moment Henry knew what Bendy was scared about.

The animator shook his head. “Bendy, I would never hate you over something like that. I could never hate you.” He looked at the demon as he sniffled. “I love you no matter who you are, Ben. You’re my creation, but you have the freedom to be whoever you want. I will never hate you for who you want to be, and I love you no matter what.” He titled his head. “Bendy… do you think you’re not a boy?”

Bendy nodded softly, blinking tears from his eyes. “Yeah… I think… I think I’m not a boy or a girl. I think I’m… non-binary.”

Henry blinked in surprise. Though he knew Bendy said he didn’t think he was a boy, he wasn’t quite expecting that. He shook his head a bit and asked, “That’s when you’re not a boy or girl, right? You identify outside the binary, right?”

Bendy nodded. “Yes. For a long time, I felt like I wasn’t really a boy. But when I tried ta think of myself as a girl, I didn’t really feel like I was a girl either. I didn’t really feel like my body fit either a boy or girl body. And overall… I don’t feel like I fit in either of those.” He sniffled again. “I’m sorry, Henry.”

Henry reached over and took Bendy’s hands. “Bendy, you don’t have to be sorry.”

The demon looked at him with surprise. “I don’t?”

“No, Bendy. You may have been created male, but that doesn’t mean that you have to feel that you’re a guy. You have the freedom to be whoever you want. I will never hate you or be disappointed in you for being who you feel you really are. I want you to be comfortable with your own identity and who you are. Bendy, be whoever you feel comfortable as. I will always love you, no matter your gender.”

Bendy had listened to every word and now found more tears forming in his eyes. But they weren’t from fear or sadness, but happiness. He had been so scared to tell Henry, afraid he would be disappointed in him or even disown him, but the fact that Henry was so supportive and reassuring… it lifted the weight that had been on his shoulders at his realization and he felt happier than he had been in a while. He reached his arms around Henry and pulled his creator into a hug. Henry was stiff at first, but relaxed and was soon to wrap his arms around Bendy. The demon chuckled despite the tears and all the emotions in his head. “Thank you, Henry. Thank you so much.”

Henry nodded and patted Bendy’s back. “It’s no trouble, Ben. By the way, do you want to keep going by male pronouns?”

Bendy thought about it for a moment. “I think… I’d prefer ‘they’ pronouns.”

Henry smiled. “I can certainly do that. Now, how about we tell the others?”

“I… I’d like that, Henry. Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is canon to my AU, in case you're wondering!  
> Hope you enjoyed, and feel free to leave kudos and comments! Please don't comment transphobic stuff if you didn't like it! No one likes hate comments on their stuff!  
> I'll probably jump between this modern part of my AU and the main part of my AU in my drabbles, so be on the look out for more like this!


End file.
